Apparatus for additive manufacturing

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments provide a method and apparatus for forming a three-dimensional article through successive fusion of parts of at least one layer of a powder bed provided on a work table in an additive manufacturing machine, which parts corresponds to successive cross sections of the three-dimensional article. The method comprises the steps of: applying a layer of predetermined thickness of powder particles on the work table, applying a coating on at least a portion of the powder particles, which coating is at least partially covering the powder particles, and fusing the powder particles on the work table with an electron beam.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. Nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 14/230,922, filed Mar. 31, 2014, which applicationclaims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/813,555, filed Apr. 18, 2013, the contents ofboth of which as are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for additivemanufacturing.

Description of Related Art

Freeform fabrication or additive manufacturing is a method for formingthree-dimensional articles through successive fusion of chosen parts ofpowder layers applied to a worktable.

An additive manufacturing apparatus may comprise a work table on whichthe three-dimensional article is to be formed, a powder dispenser,arranged to lay down a thin layer of powder on the work table for theformation of a powder bed, an energy beam for delivering energy to thepowder whereby fusion of the powder takes place, elements for control ofthe energy given off by the energy beam over the powder bed for theformation of a cross section of the three-dimensional article throughfusion of parts of the powder bed, and a controlling computer, in whichinformation is stored concerning consecutive cross sections of thethree-dimensional article. A three-dimensional article is formed throughconsecutive fusions of consecutively formed cross sections of powderlayers, successively laid down by the powder dispenser.

In additive manufacturing it is important to control the powderdistribution. It is desirable to distribute a predefined amount ofpowder over a predetermined area. When fusing the powder at selectedlocations according to a 3-dimensional model with an electron beam thepowder may start to “smoke”, i.e., the electron beam may charge thepowder particles, which in turn may start to repel each other and liftfrom the powder bed. Such “smoke” of powder is highly undesirablebecause, if it happens, the additive manufacturing process is mostlikely to be stopped. In order to prohibit powder “smoke” there aredifferent methods used such as preheating of the powder layer to befused and/or reduced power of the fusing beam. These methods mayincrease the build time which may be a problem.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An object of the various embodiments of the present invention is toprovide a method and apparatus which may eliminate or at least reducethe above mentioned problem in the additive manufacturing process. Theabovementioned object is achieved by the features in the method andapparatus claimed herein.

Various embodiments provide a method for forming a three-dimensionalarticle through successive fusion of parts of at least one layer of apowder bed provided on a work table in a vacuum chamber, which partscorresponds to successive cross sections of the three-dimensionalarticle. The method comprising the steps of: providing a layer ofpredetermined thickness of powder particles on the work table in thevacuum chamber, providing a coating on at least a portion of the powderparticles while the powder is inside the vacuum chamber, which coatingis at least partially covering the powder particles, and fusing thepowder particles on the work table with an energy beam.

A non-limiting and exemplary advantage of various embodiments of thepresent invention is that the powder is coated in the vacuum chamber,i.e., the coating is performed under vacuum conditions, which means thatthe coated powder may be free of surface oxides. In an exampleembodiment the vacuum condition means a pressure which is less than1×10⁻² mbar. In another example embodiment the vacuum condition means apressure which is less than 1×10⁻³ mbar. Creating a coated powderwithout surface oxides means that the electrical conductivity of thepowder is much higher compared to a pre coated powder which always has athin layer of surface oxides and/or surface nitrides. Powder withoutsurface oxides may be sintered at a lower temperature and fastercompared to a powder which has surface oxides and/or surface nitrides.The increased conductivity of the powder also means that the probabilityof powder smoke may be greatly reduced.

In still other exemplary embodiments the coating is provided prior toproviding the powder particles on the work table. The coating may forinstance be provided on the top surface of the powder in the powdercontainer which may be provided inside the vacuum chamber. The advantageof providing the coating prior to providing the powder on the work tablewhere the three-dimensional article is to be manufactured in that coatedand uncoated powder may be mixed during powder distribution on thepowder table, which further may improve the electrical conductivity ofthe powder layer.

In yet still another example embodiment the coating is provided on thepowder particles while the powder particles are provided on the worktable. The powder in the powder container may be unsuitable for coatingthe powder to be distributed over the work table. In such cases thecoating of the powder may be performed while the powder is alreadydistributed over the worktable just before the fusion of the powder isto be performed. In another example embodiment the powder may first becoated while being in the powder container and thereafter recoated whilebeing provided on the work table. In an example embodiment the coatingwhile being in the powder container may be of a first material and thecoating while being on the work table may be of a second material. Thefirst and second material may be the same or different materials withhigher electrical conductivity than the clean powder itself.

In still a further example embodiment of the present invention the worktable may be vibrating while coating the powder on the work table. Theadvantage of vibrating the work table may be two fold, firstly theparticles may rotate which means that a surface which is not visible forthe coating device may be coated, secondly the particles may grouptogether more homogenously, i.e., with less voids, thereby creating abetter overall electrical conductivity and packing degree of the powderlayer.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention the coatingis provided by at least one of the group of: sputtering, chemical vapordeposition, physical vapor deposition, laser ablation, resistive meltingof a target, laser beam melting of a target and/or electron beam meltingof a target. In an example embodiment the coating is made of the samematerial as the powder particles. The advantage of providing a coatingof the same material as the powder particles is that the materialcharacteristics are not changed.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention the coatingis made of another material compared to the powder particles. This maybe advantageous if one wants to tweak the material properties with adoping material. In an example embodiment the material properties may bechanged for specific layers of the three dimensional article, forinstance the outer layer. One may choose a doping material which mayamend the ductility of the surface of the three dimensional article.

In still another example embodiment the coating has at least onematerial component in common with the powder particles. If the powdermaterial is TiAl, the coating may be made of Al, Ti, or TiAl.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention the coatinghas none material component in common with the powder particles. Smallamount of some material may change the microstructure of the fusedpowder layer.

In still another example embodiment the coating material may have anelectrical conductivity which may be higher than the powder particlesfor increasing the electrical conductivity of the powder. This may beadvantageous if the clean powder without coating is having a lowconductivity which may not allow fusing with an electron beam whichrequires an electrically conductive powder. Such powder may for instancebe a ceramic or polymer powder. The coating is in such cases made of amaterial with a low electric resistance.

In another aspect of the present invention it is provided an apparatusfor forming a three-dimensional article through successive fusion ofparts of at least one layer of a powder bed provided on a work table,which parts corresponds to successive cross sections of thethree-dimensional article, the apparatus comprising: an energy beamsource for fusing the powder, a powder distributor for distributing thepowder on top of the work table, and a coating device for coating atleast a portion of the powder with a coating material. In an exampleembodiment the work table and the coating device are provided in avacuum chamber. In an example embodiment the work table may be providedwith a vibrator which may be activated when coating the powder on thework table.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention will be further described in thefollowing, in a non-limiting way with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. Same characters of reference are employed to indicatecorresponding similar parts throughout the several figures of thedrawings:

FIG. 1A shows, in a schematic view, an apparatus for producing a threedimensional product according to prior art;

FIG. 1B depicts, in a schematic view, a first embodiment of a deviceaccording to the present invention for coating powder for use in anadditive manufacturing process;

FIG. 2 depicts, in a schematic view, a second embodiment of a deviceaccording to the present invention for coating powder for use in anadditive manufacturing process; and

FIG. 3 depicts, in a schematic view, a third embodiment of a deviceaccording to the present invention for coating powder for use in anadditive manufacturing process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

To facilitate the understanding of various embodiments of the presentinvention, a number of terms are defined below. Terms defined hereinhave meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill inthe areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as “a”, “an” and“the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but includethe general class of which a specific example may be used forillustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specificembodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit theinvention, except as outlined in the claims.

The term “three-dimensional structures” and the like as used hereinrefer generally to intended or actually fabricated three-dimensionalconfigurations (e.g. of structural material or materials) that areintended to be used for a particular purpose. Such structures, etc. may,for example, be designed with the aid of a three-dimensional CAD system.

The term “electron beam” as used herein in various embodiments refers toany charged particle beam. The sources of charged particle beam caninclude an electron gun, a linear accelerator and so on. Instead ofusing an electron beam a laser beam may be used for fusing the powderlayers.

FIG. 1A depicts an embodiment of a freeform fabrication or additivemanufacturing apparatus 21 according to prior art. The apparatus 21comprising an electron beam gun 6; deflection coils 7; two powderhoppers 4, 14; a build platform 2; a build tank 10; a powder distributor28; a powder bed 5; and a vacuum chamber 20.

The vacuum chamber 20 is configured to maintain a vacuum environment bymeans of a vacuum system, which system may comprise a turbomolecularpump, a scroll pump, an ion pump and one or more valves which are wellknown to a skilled person in the art and therefore need no furtherexplanation in this context. The vacuum system is controlled by acontrol unit 8.

The electron beam gun 6 is generating an electron beam which is used formelting or fusing together powder material provided on the buildplatform 2. At least a portion of the electron beam gun 6 may beprovided in the vacuum chamber 20. The control unit 8 may be used forcontrolling and managing the electron beam emitted from the electronbeam gun 6. At least one focusing coil (not shown), at least onedeflection coil 7, an optional coil for astigmatic correction (notshown) and an electron beam power supply (not shown) may be electricallyconnected to the control unit 8. In an example embodiment of theinvention the electron beam gun 6 generates a focusable electron beamwith an accelerating voltage which may be about 15-60 kV and with a beampower which may be in the range of 3-10 Kw. The pressure in the vacuumchamber may be 1×10⁻³ mbar or lower when building the three-dimensionalarticle by fusing the powder layer by layer with the energy beam.

In certain embodiments a laser beam may be used for melting or fusingthe powder material. In such case tiltable mirrors may be used in thebeam path in order to deflect the laser beam to a predeterminedposition.

The powder hoppers 4, 14 comprise the powder material to be provided onthe build platform 2 in the build tank 10. The powder material may forinstance be pure metals or metal alloys such as titanium, titaniumalloys, aluminum, aluminum alloys, stainless steel, Co—Cr alloys, nickelbased superalloys, and the like.

The powder distributor 28 is arranged to lay down a thin layer of thepowder material on the build platform 2. During a work cycle the buildplatform 2 will be lowered successively in relation to a fixed point inthe vacuum chamber. In order to make this movement possible, the buildplatform 2 is in one embodiment of the invention arranged movably invertical direction, i.e., in the direction indicated by arrow P. Thismeans that the build platform 2 starts in an initial position, in whicha first powder material layer of necessary thickness has been laid down.Means for lowering the build platform 2 may for instance be through aservo engine equipped with a gear, adjusting screws, and the like.

An electron beam may be directed over the build platform 2 causing thefirst powder layer to fuse in selected locations to form a first crosssection of the three-dimensional article. The beam is directed over thebuild platform 2 from instructions given by the control unit 8. In thecontrol unit 8 instructions for how to control the electron beam foreach layer of the three-dimensional article is stored.

After a first layer is finished, i.e., the fusion of powder material formaking a first layer of the three-dimensional article, a second powderlayer is provided on the build platform 2. The second powder layer istypically distributed according to the same manner as the previouslayer. However, there might be alternative and/or additional methods inthe same additive manufacturing machine for distributing powder onto thework table.

After having distributed the second powder layer on the build platform,the energy beam is directed over the work table causing the secondpowder layer to fuse in selected locations to form a second crosssection of the three-dimensional article. Fused portions in the secondlayer may be bonded to fused portions of the first layer. The fusedportions in the first and second layer may be melted together by meltingnot only the powder in the uppermost layer but also remelting at least afraction of a thickness of a layer directly below the uppermost layer.

A first example embodiment of a method according to the presentinvention comprises at least the step of forming a three-dimensionalarticle 110 through successive fusion of parts of at least one layer ofa powder bed provided on a work table 102 in an additive manufacturingmachine 100, which parts corresponds to successive cross sections of thethree-dimensional article. The exemplary embodiment may further comprisethe steps of providing a layer of predetermined thickness of powderparticles on the work table 102, providing a coating 122 on at least aportion of the powder particles which coating is at least partiallycovering the powder particles, and fusing the powder particles on thework table with an electron beam 155, as may be understood from FIG. 1B.

The coating may be provided prior to providing the powder particles onthe work table 102. FIG. 1B depicts an example embodiment of a methodfor coating powder particles prior to providing the powder particles onthe work table 102.

In FIG. 1B the coating of powder may be performed on a top surface ofthe powder in a powder container 128. The coating may be applied on thepowder particles via a coating device 116. The coating on the powderparticles may be provided by at least one of the group of: sputtering,chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, laser ablation,resistive melting of a target, laser beam melting of a target and/orelectron beam melting of a target. The electron beam or laser beam usedfor melting the target may be the same electron beam or laser beam whichis used for fusing the powder layers.

In an example embodiment of the present invention a vibrating device 192may be provided on the powder container 128. The vibrating device mayintroduce vibrating power on the powder in the powder container. Thismay cause the powder particles to move around on the top surface of thepowder in the powder container 128, allowing for a coating on allsurface positions of the powder particles in the top surface layer ofthe powder in the powder container 128.

When the top surface of the powder 120 in the powder container 128 hasbeen coated a movable floor 124 may be moved upwards by suitable meansattached to a piston 126 which in turn is attached to the movable floor124. The means for moving the movable floor may be an electric motor, apneumatic motor, a hydraulic motor etc. The movable floor may beincreased a certain distance allowing the powder distributor 118 to rakeoff a predetermined amount of material from the powder container 128 anddistribute the powder evenly on top of the work table 102 in the buildtank 106. When moving the powder particles from the powder container,the coated powder particles may be mixed with the non-coated powderparticles. When distributing a powder layer on top of the work table102, the powder which is distributed may be an evenly distributed mix ofcoated and non-coated powder particles allowing for a good control ofthe material properties when the powder particles is fused.

The powder rake 118 may remove a predetermined thickness of the powdermaterial from a powder tank 128 to the build tank 106. In an exampleembodiment the rake removes the same thickness as the distance in whichthe movable floor 124 in the powder tank 128 is raised. In anotherembodiment a fraction of the powder thickness, corresponding to afraction of a height in which the movable floor 124 is raised, isremoved and transferred from the powder tank 128 to the build tank 106.The powder tank 128 in FIG. 1B is very similar to the build tank 106.The powder tank 128 comprises a movable bottom plate 124, which maychange its position in the same way as the work table 102 in the buildtank 106. In FIG. 1B it is only illustrated one powder tank 128 to theright of the build tank 106. In an another embodiment there may beprovided another powder tank 128 to the left of the build tank 106.

A first type of powder material may be provided in a first powder tankand a second powder material may be provided in a second powder tank. Afirst coating device may be coating the top surface of the powder in thefirst powder tank. A second coating device may be coating the topsurface of the powder in the second powder tank. The coating material inthe first coating device may be different to the coating material in thesecond coating device. The coating material in the first coating devicemay be equal to the coating material in the second coating device.

In an example embodiment the coating on the powder particles may be madeof the same material as the powder particles itself. For instance, ifthe powder particles are made of titanium, the coating may be made oftitanium.

In another example embodiment the coating may be made of anothermaterial compared to the powder particles. For instance, if the powderparticles are made of a ceramic material the coating may be made ofmetal, for instance copper.

In still another example embodiment the coating may have at least onematerial component in common with the powder particles. For instance, ifthe powder particles are made of TiAl, the coating may be made oftitanium or aluminum.

In yet another example embodiment the coating may have no materialcomponent in common with the powder particles. If the powder particlesare made of Ti, the coating may be made of Al.

The material characteristics may be altered for at least one layer ofthe three-dimensional article by providing a predetermined thickness ofthe coating on a predetermined portion of the powder particles. Forexample, if the powder particles are made of Ti, the coating may be madeof Al. The coating may be applied for every second layer, therebyforming a sandwiched structure of the material having differentproperties for different layers. Instead of applying the coating on thepowder particles layer wise, the coating may be applied for differentparts of the three dimensional structure to be manufactured, i.e., afirst portion may have the material of the powder particles only and asecond portion may have the alloy of the powder particle material andthe coating material. This means that three-dimensional articles may bemanufactured, which have different material characteristics fordifferent portions of the finalized article, although the same powderparticles are used throughout the manufacturing process. The applicationof the coating of the powder particles allows for customized and/orfine-tuned material properties of the three dimensional articlesproduced with additive manufacturing.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention, the powderparticles may be made of polymer material or ceramic material and thecoating may be made of electrically conductive material, for instancemetal. The coating material may also be made of carbon. This allows formanufacturing three dimensional articles made essentially ofelectrically insulating material such as polymer or ceramic material byusing an electron beam. Without the electrically conductive coating,which makes the electrically isolating powder particles electricallyconductive, the electron beam is not suitable for manufacturing threedimensional articles using powder material which have little or noelectric conductivity. By applying a thin coating of a material which iselectrically conductive, an electron beam may be used for additivelymanufacturing a three dimensional article by using powder material whichis more or less regarded as electrically isolating.

In an example embodiment the coating material may have an electricalconductivity which is higher than the powder particles.

In another embodiment the coating may be provided prior to providing thepowder particles in the additive manufacturing machine. The powdercoating device may in this embodiment be separated from the additivemanufacturing machine.

In another example embodiment the coating may be provided on the powderparticles while the powder particles are provided on the work table 202,see FIG. 2. In FIG. 2 an energy beam source 208, which may be a lasersource or an electron beam source, may be used for fusing powder layersprovided on a worktable at selected locations according to a model. Acoating device 216 may be used for coating one or several layers of thepowder material 212 which is to be fused. The coating process may beperformed in between the powder distribution process and the fusingprocess, i.e., as soon as a powder layer has been provide on the worktable 202 the coating device 216 may start to coat the top surface layerof the powder in the build tank 206. A shutter (not illustrated) may beprovided in between the coating device and the top surface of the powderon the work table. The shutter may determine which region of the topsurface of the powder on the work table to coat.

In an example embodiment the coating device may be provided movable in avertical direction and/or a horizontal direction. By moving the coatingdevice 216, the coating device may cover different areas of the powdersurface. The coating device may scan the complete top surface of thepowder on the work table for coating powder particles on each and everyposition of the top surface. Varying the height, i.e., moving thecoating device in a vertical direction may also influence the coveringarea of the coating device, a larger distance from the coating device tothe top surface of the powder on the work table may cover a larger areacompared to if the coating device is provided closer to the top surfaceof the powder on the work table.

The work table and/or the build tank may be provided with a vibratorwhich is activated while coating the powder on the work table.

The present invention also relates to an apparatus for forming athree-dimensional article through successive fusion of parts of at leastone layer of a powder bed provided on a work table, which partscorresponds to successive cross sections of the three-dimensionalarticle. The apparatus comprises an energy beam source for fusing thepowder, a powder distributor for distributing the powder on top of thework table, and a coating device for coating at least a portion of thepowder with a coating material.

The energy beam source may be a laser beam source or an electron beamsource. The powder distributor may be a rake arranged at a predetermineddistance above the top surface of the work table or the top surface ofthe previous powder layer provided on the work table. Powder materialmay be provided in front of the rake. The rake may have a length whichis longer than the width of the work table. The rake is movablehorizontally at a predetermined distance above the top surface of thework table or the top surface of the previous powder layer provided onthe work table. Powder material provided in front of the rake is evenlydistributed on the work table or the previous powder layer on the worktable.

The coating device may be a sputtering device, chemical vapor depositiondevice, physical vapor deposition device, laser ablation device, adevice for resistive melting of a target, a device for laser beammelting of a target and/or a device for electron beam melting of atarget.

The coating device may be arranged in the apparatus for coating thepowder particles before being provided on the work table. An exampleembodiment of this situation is illustrated in FIG. 1B.

The coating device may be arranged in the apparatus for coating thepowder while being arranged on the work table. An example embodiment ofthis situation is shown in FIG. 2.

The coating device may be arranged in the apparatus for coatingfree-floating powder. An example embodiment of this situation is shownin FIG. 3. Powder particles 360 may be provided in an external container362. The powder particles 360 in the external container 362 may betransferred from the external container 362 to a powder hopper 352.Freely falling powder 370 from the external container 362 to the powdertank 352 may be coated with a coating device 316. Coated powderparticles 350 are filling the powder tank 352.

The coated powder particles may be used in an additive manufacturingprocess. An schematic illustration of an example embodiment of anadditive manufacturing device is illustrated to the right of the powdertank 352. A powder distributor 318 may catch coated powder material 350from the scree of powder falling out of the powder tank 352 by movingthe powder distributor 318 a predetermined distance into the scree ofpowder. The powder caught by the powder distributor is distributed overthe work table 302. A thickness of a powder layer to be fused may bedetermined by the distance which the work table 302 has been lowered inrelation to the previous layer. An energy beam source 308 may melt thepowder layer in selected locations according to a model.

The powder which may be raked from the powder tank 352 to the build tankis distributed evenly on top of the work table inside the build tank.The evenly distribution may be performed with the powder rake 318, butmay also be performed with another distribution device such as anotherrake or a vibration or oscillation mechanism.

A first layer of the three-dimensional article may be formed by fusingthe layer of powder provided on the work table in predeterminedlocations.

The work table 302 may be lowered a predetermined distance in order toallow a further layer of powder material to be provided on the alreadyapplied powder layers on the work table. The steps of raking new powdermaterial from the powder hopper to the build tank, distribution of thepowder on the work table, fusing of the powder layers on predeterminedlocation and lowering of the work table is repeated until the threedimensional article is finalized.

It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to theabove-described embodiments and many modifications are possible withinthe scope of the following claims. Such modifications may, for example,involve using a different source of energy beam than the exemplifiedelectron beam such as a laser beam. Additionally or otherwise, materialsother than metallic powder may be used, such as the non-limitingexamples of powder of polymers or powder of ceramics.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for forming a three-dimensional article through successive fusion of parts of at least one layer of a powder bed applied onto a work table, which parts corresponds to successive cross sections of the three-dimensional article, said apparatus comprising: a powder container for storing powder particles; a coating device for coating at least a portion of said powder particles while said powder particles are inside the powder container with a coating material having at least one material characteristic that differs from a corresponding material characteristic of said powder particles; a powder build tank adjacent to the powder container comprising a work table; a powder distributor for distributing a layer of coated powder particles from said powder container as a powder bed on top of said work table; and an energy beam source for fusing the layer of powder particles on said work table.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one material characteristic of the coating material is an electrical conductivity.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said electrical conductivity of said coating material is higher than an electrical conductivity of the powder particles.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said work table comprises a vibrator, said vibrator being activated while coating said powder on said work table.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said coating device is selected from the group consisting of: a sputtering device, a chemical vapor deposition device, a physical vapor deposition device, a laser ablation device, a device for resistive melting of a target, a laser beam melting of a target, and electron beam melting of a target.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said work table and said coating device are provided in a vacuum chamber.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises a control unit, said control unit being configured to at least manipulate an electron beam emitted from said energy beam source.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the electron beam is configured, via the manipulation imposed by the control unit, for fusing the layer of powder particles on said work table.
 9. An apparatus for forming a three-dimensional article through successive fusion of parts of at least one layer of a powder bed applied onto a work table, which parts corresponds to successive cross sections of the three-dimensional article, said apparatus comprising: a powder container for storing powder particles with a bottom opening; a coating device located adjacent to said bottom opening for coating the powder particles as the powder particles exit the opening via free fall with a coating material having at least one material characteristic that differs from a corresponding material characteristic of said powder particles; a powder build tank comprising a work table; a powder distributor for distributing a layer of coated powder particles from said powder container as a powder bed on top of said work table; and an energy beam source for fusing the layer of powder particles on said work table.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the at least one material characteristic of the coating material is an electrical conductivity.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said electrical conductivity of said coating material is higher than an electrical conductivity of the powder particles.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said work table comprises a vibrator, said vibrator being activated while coating said powder on said work table.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said coating device is selected from the group consisting of: a sputtering device, a chemical vapor deposition device, a physical vapor deposition device, a laser ablation device, a device for resistive melting of a target, a laser beam melting of a target, and electron beam melting of a target.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said work table and said coating device are provided in a vacuum chamber.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said apparatus further comprises a control unit, said control unit being configured to at least manipulate an electron beam emitted from said energy beam source.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the electron beam is configured, via the manipulation imposed by the control unit, for fusing the layer of powder particles on said work table. 